Today in Linus Pauling: March 19

Wrote these Manuscripts:Vitamin C and the Common Cold: An Up-To-Date Discussion, March 19, 1975.

Chemotherapy, March 19, 1987.

Gave these Speeches:Melting Points, Boiling Points, Crystal Energy, Fifth Lecture, Seminar on the Properties of Monatomic Atoms and Ions, University of California, Berkeley, March 19, 1929.

Perturbation Theory — Method of Variation of Constants, Second Lecture, Berkeley Lectures, Second Series — Introduction to Quantum Mechanics of Aperiodic Processes, University of California, Berkeley, March 19, 1930.

Structure and Specificity, Eli Lilly and Company, No Location, March 19, 1946.

The Third Party Movement in the United States, The English Speaking Union, Oxford University, England, March 19, 1948.

Disarm or Die!, Toronto Committee for Disarmament, Toronto, Canada, March 19, 1961; Causes of Aging and Death, University of Toronto, March 20, 1961.

Science and the Future of Humanity, American Friends Service Committee, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, March 19, 1963.

The Health and Welfare of Children: Future Directions, Sixth Annual Conference of the Quebec Association for Children with Learning Disabilities, Montreal, Canada, March 19, 1981.

“Our ultimate end must be precisely what Dr. Pauling says, peace based on agreement, upon understanding, on universally agreed and enforced law. I think this is a wonderful idea, but peace based on force buys us the necessary time, and in this time we can work for better understanding, for closer collaboration.”

Pro-militarization scientists including physicist Edward Teller, argued that the negative effects of radiation were negligible, at least as compared to the utility of nuclear stockpiles in maintaining the global balance of power. Suggesting that “to my mind, the distinction between a nuclear weapon and a conventional weapon is the distinction between an effective weapon and an outmoded weapon,” Teller was perhaps the leading scientific opponent of Pauling’s anti-bomb position.

Pauling argued that Teller’s claims were blatantly false. He attacked Teller in the media for his use of “dishonest and incomplete information.” Teller, known as “the father of the hydrogen bomb,” responded in kind, disputing the statistics that Pauling used to support his claims.

Linus Pauling debating Edward Teller on the topic of nuclear fallout. February 1958

Pauling’s approach was typical of his writing. Relying upon published statements, scientific data and a lengthy defense of his own record against those who had already questioned the validity of his position, Pauling attempted to provide a reasoned argument that might educate the viewing public:

“There are every year seventy-five million children born in the world. Two percent of these children are seriously deficient because of heredity…the bad genes that are in the pool of human germ plasm, partially due to the natural radioactivity, and cosmic rays, and now being increased by fallout….One percent increase in this is fifteen thousand seriously defective children each year….We can say, accordingly, that the man who gives the order to test a single large superbomb with high-fission yield is dooming fifteen thousand seriously defective children to be born in later generation.”

Teller’s tactics, on the other hand, were steeped in the highly-effective Cold War rhetoric of the era:

“Peace cannot be obtained by wishing for it….It has often been said, and I think with some justification, that the first world war was brought on by a race in armament. I believe that the second world war was brought on by a race in disarmament. The peace-loving nations disarmed, and when the Hitler tyranny armed, inertia was too great…he got away with his army and he almost conquered the world. Next time when a tyranny arms and we don’t, we might not be so fortunate.”

Perhaps most galling to Pauling’s sensibilities was Teller’s rather flippant refutation of his opponent’s statements concerning the potential for genetic damage caused by radioactive fallout:

“We know enough about the mechanism of heredity to be sure that changes will be made in the germ plasm, just as Dr. Pauling has said, and many, very many, probably the great majority of these changes will be damaging. Yet without some changes, evolution would be impossible.”

As the debate wore on, Teller’s approach threw Pauling increasingly off-balance. By the end, many neutral observers came away from the event feeling that the physicist had maintained a greater degree of poise and had, in fact, “won” the debate. After the evening had concluded, a frustrated and angered Pauling refused to debate with Teller again, feeling that his adversary was neither interested nor willing to engage in a formal, educational discussion.

Linus Pauling and Edward Teller with members of the media and television crew during the debate. February 1958

The two did, however, continue to trade barbs in various public arenas — much of Pauling’s 1958 book No More War! was written in direct response to Teller’s own publication titled Our Nuclear Future. Accusations, points and counterpoints would continue to be made over the years, in dozens of speeches and articles. Admirers of one another’s scientific achievements, Pauling and Teller remained life-long nemeses on subjects of war and peace.

2 Responses

[…] Chillingly, Dr Edward Teller responded in the style of Rock Carling in the course of his famous debate with Dr Linus Pauling: Quote: “We know enough about the mechanism of heredity to be sure that changes will be made in the germ plasm, just as Dr. Pauling has said, and many, very many, probably the great majority of these changes will be damaging. Yet without some changes, evolution would be impossible.” end quote.Source: “Pauling vs Teller”, The Pauling Blog, https://paulingblog.wordpress.com/2008/03/25/pauling-vs-teller/ […]

[…] “We know enough about the mechanism of heredity to be sure that changes will be made in the germ plasm, just as Dr. Pauling has said, and many, very many, probably the great majority of these changes will be damaging. Yet without some changes, evolution would be impossible.” end quote.Source: “Pauling vs Teller”, The Pauling Blog, https://paulingblog.wordpress.com/2008/03/25/pauling-vs-teller/ […]